The Triple Crown showcases the best of Pennsylvania’s ultra mountain-running scene, with a perfect three-race progression of distance and difficulty across the racing season.

PENNSYLVANIA TRIPLE CROWN

OF MOUNTAIN RUNNING

THE WILDERNESS RACES OF PA

Rugged

Dramatic

Punishing

The Triple Crown showcases the best of Pennsylvania’s ultra mountain-running scene, with a perfect three-race progression of distance and difficulty across the racing season that will challenge you physically and mentally, and enrich you spiritually. These races celebrate the wild beauty of these rugged old mountains, and the vibrant trail-running culture that thrives in them. These are hard, graduate-level routes that will test you to the core, and they aren’t for beginners or casual participants. But if you’re dedicated, if you live to run fast and far over rough terrain in whatever the weather brings, join us for this ultimate test: the crown-jewel races of the Pennsylvania Triple Crown of Mountain Running.

How It Works

It’s pretty simple: complete all three races within their cutoffs and in the same year, and you’ve earned the right to be called a Pennsylvania Triple Crown finisher. A handsome handmade Triple Crown trophy will be mailed to you after the completion of Eastern States 100. Plus there are the bragging rights that go with membership in what we think will be a pretty awesome club. We’ll also name a King and Queen of the Mountainto be determined by using a points system. These honors will earn you a gold crown. There are no extra steps, no additional fees – just enter the races and you’re in the hunt. But a word of advice: don’t wait around to register – these races are likely to sell out.

The PA Triple Crown Points System: determining the King and Queen of the Mountain. For those who can complete all three races, we will determine the most bad ass female and male runner by a simple points system. There were many aspects we had to consider and we believe we have the best system possible after hours of testing and drinking our favorite beers.

1. The PA Triple Crown Points System is divided into 2 categories; one for the males and one for the females. We will strictly look at how runners place in their respective gender category and not by overall finishing place. There is no age category included in our calculations.

2. All potential Triple Crown finishers are racing against the entire field of runners at each race.

3. You will receive points equal to your finishing place in your gender category. If you place 10th, you will receive 10 points. Place 4th, you’ll receive 4 points. If you are the 1st place male or female, you will receive zero points as a bonus for winning.

4. After all races have been completed, the male and female with the least amount of points will be declared the winners.

5. In case of a tie, we will look at the runners results head to head for each race.

Here is an example of how it might look.

Racer’s Hyner 50k WEU100k ES100

Racer A 9th 8th 4th = 21 pts

Racer B 7th 2nd 3rd = 12 pts

Racer C 1st 3rd 8th = 11 pts

Racer D 3rd 4th 5th = 12 pts

Racer E 2nd 1st 20th = 22 pts

As you can easily see, being consistent for every race is critical to being crowned. While Racer E started out great, the last race did Racer E in with such a poor finish compared to the other runners. Between Racer B, C and D, the edge is given to Racer C due to the bonus of winning the race.

Hyner 50k

The granddaddy of the bunch, Hyner has been a rite of passage for a generation of Pennsylvania trail runners, the inspiration for so many other races, and the standard by which all the others are judged. From the first brutal climb up Humble Hill to the View, through the remote beauty of Ritchie Run, to the final screaming descent of Huff Run, this annual celebration of spring in the mountains will either validate your winter training, or serve as a cold, hard wake-up call for the challenges ahead.

Worlds End 100K

For pure rugged beauty, Worlds End is truly world-class. With brilliant waterfalls and breathtaking vistas around every bend, WEU is the most scenery-dense of the Triple Crown races, and mile for mile one of the toughest and most beautiful courses you’ll find anywhere. It’s a smorgasbord sampling of Worlds End State Park, the Loyalsock Trail, and the surrounding forest – 62 miles of rocky, rooty trail goodness, and a perfect step towards the final challenge.

Eastern States 100

An ultimate test for the strongest and toughest: the longest climbs, the remotest trails, the most technical terrain, and all in the glorious heat and humidity of August. This circumnavigation of Pine Creek visits some of our most storied trails (like the Mid State Trail and the Black Forest Trail) and accumulates well over 20,000 feet of climbing in the process. You’ll pay a high price for these miles, but you’ll reap a reward beyond measure.

Congratulations to all the awesome finishers of this years PA Triple Crown of Mountain Running! It was again a wild and crazy ride for anyone who attempted to complete the series. We started with 113 runners in contention after the Hyner Trail Challenge 50k, our early season warm-up race. The weather was superb for the 11th running of the race and lots of runners were looking forward to keeping the runner’s high going for the next one in the series. This year’s Worlds End 100k had perfect running conditions and the numbers were cut to only 67 contenders. Runners again had the weather advantage with an unusually cool August weekend to help them conquer the brutal 36 hours of Eastern States 100. The aftermath left 7 women and 30 men standing tall to earn the coveted title of PA Triple Crown Finisher! Race day temperatures ran in the low 80’s with moderate humidity leading to a few mid-day showers. With such determined runners, the 33% finishing rate of last year was turned on it’s head with a record high 60% finishing rate. Unprecedented!

The Crowning of the King and Queen of the Mountain. On the women’s side of things, Deserae Clarke wasn’t messing around this year with an early jump in the lead with a win at the Hyner 50k followed with a second place finish at the Worlds End 100k. Rhoda Smoker put up a good fight posting a 3rd and 2nd place at WE100k and ES100 but it wasn’t enough to dethrone Deserae. Hanging in tough for her first 100 mile race, Deserea successfully earned the title of Queen of the Mountain with a 5th place finish at Eastern States 100. The men’s race was very tight with Clayton Bouchard landing the first punch with a win at the Hyner 50k, followed by Danny Mowers in 4th and Joel Noal in 6th. Worlds End 100k was still pretty even with 4th, 6th, and 5th places for the three respectively. The beauty of the series is that until you cross the finish line at Eastern States, it’s anyone’s crown to take home. Danny Mowers dropped the hammer at Eastern States and came away with the crown in a 4th place finish. What these runners endured and how they poured their heart and soul into reaching the top is amazing. What a way to finish the series!

If you think you have what it takes to complete this wild series of mountain races, 2018 is right around the corner!

David Walker

THE 2017 RUNNERS

Special Thanks to Hugh MacMullan IV and Chris Calimano for compiling the data.